"The Heartland Institute, an influential rightwing thinktank based in Chicago, which has long pushed misinformation about climate change, is currently having its own Wizard of Oz moment following the leaking of internal documents which reveal the true extent of its funding and efforts to cast doubt on climate science." [more...]

David Ellerman (publishing as J Philmore) makes a case that modern libertarians such as Nozick should support voluntary selling of oneself into lifelong slavery the same way one should be able to sell services for any shorter period of time. [more...]

Slavery is a free-market phenomenon. Slavery has almost always been abolished by acts of government that regulate the market, making it illegal. 19th century slaveowners defended their property rights in slaves in ways that are unmistakably libertarian, differing only slightly in terms of who had natural rights. Some modern libertarians continue to make a case for slavery. [more...]

5 comments:

The Libertarian Case for Slavery ranks as one of the stupidest, ugliest things I have read recently.

What do you think of the GOP circus that's going on these days, Mike? It seems like naked libertarian-type missives are flying out of the mouths of most of the candidates: they are not even trying to hide the plutocratic bias anymore. Have we turned some kind of corner?

Sorry Mike, I didn't get that it was satire. That's embarrassing. I feel like Tea Party supporters get close to saying these kinds of things at times, so it's getting hard for me to make the reality/satire distinction.

There IS a libertarian case for slavery, though, and if you can get them to talk about it, some of them admit it. If you believe in absolute property rights, and that you own yourself (as is libertarian dogma) then you have the right to sell yourself. I've not only heard some admit it, I've seen the idea defended. It's why I laugh when they go on about freedom. Any system which allows people to EVER be property is not about freedom.